Fans Mourn the Loss of Television Writer Heidi Ferrer, Who Has Died at Age 50

In recent sad news for the entertainment community, television writer Heidi Ferrer, known for her work on Dawson's Creek and Wasteland, died on May 26, 2021. The writer had been struggling against long-term coronavirus complications after she contracted the virus in April 2020. Here's everything we know about her cause of death.

Before she contracted the coronavirus, Heidi had been in recovery from alcoholism and celebrated three years of sobriety on Dec. 31, 2020. Her public Instagram account was dedicated to celebrating her sobriety milestones and her son, Bexon Lightning. The goal of her account was to inspire others to continue on their sobriety journey.

On May 26, 2021, Heidi's husband Nick posted to Twitter to let fans and friends know that Heidi had passed away. She had contracted the coronavirus in April 2020, and according to Deadline, struggled with extreme long-haul symptoms and was completely bedridden by May 2021. Those symptoms included "constant physical pain, suffering from severe neurological tremors and numerous other worsening symptoms."

In 2008, Heidi started a blog to document her son’s battle with progressive infantile scoliosis. The blog, titled Girl to Mom, later also illustrated the daily frustration and struggle she was facing during her last few months against coronavirus complications. At one point, she wrote, "In my darkest moments, I told my husband that if I didn't get better, I did not want to live like this. I wasn't suicidal, I just couldn't see any quality of life long term, and there was no end in sight."

For a time, Heidi seemed optimistic that her symptoms and the pain she was experiencing would eventually fade and wrote in a January 2021 post, "I'm cautiously optimistic that I'm still improving slowly but surely every month. I had over 40 scary and even crippling Long Covid symptoms in July. Now I'm down to a few frustrating ones, but sooo much better."

Sadly, it appears that the side effects Heidi was experiencing were overwhelming and painful, and as a result, she took her own life. Her husband Nick Guthe confirmed the news to TMZ and Deadline and added to TMZ that long-haul coronavirus is "a public health crisis that must be addressed quickly."

Heidi is survived by her husband, her son Bexon, her mother, Nancy Gilmore; and sisters Laura Frerer-Schmidt and Sierra Summerville. Memorial plans have not yet been set, but contributions can be made to the Infantile Scoliosis Outreach Project in her name at this link.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the ​National Suicide Prevention Hotline​ at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

If you or someone you know needs help, use SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator to find support for mental health and substance use disorders in your area: https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov​, or call 1-800-662-4357 for 24-hour assistance.